11.02.2012

I recently decided to switch over to wordpress and have let my blogspot go.. I really love the setup at wordpress. It's allowing me to be more organized and do things that I couldn't do with my blogger. Please check out and follow my wordpress blog and let me know what you think!

9.07.2012

I have been thinking about the symbiotic relationship between all things...

The Dalai Lama says that I should not look at one thing as just THAT thing. For example a door is not just a door. There is a hole in the wall in front of me, strategically placed so that if I go through it I will end up in the hallway that leads to the bathroom, my parents room, the living room, and beyond that... the outside world! So in this hole in the wall stands a door that fits just perfectly and is held up with hinges on the top and bottom to swing in and out... etc etc etc. So the door is not just a door. It exists as a door because of all the other factors.

This is like everything in the universe. It all exists because everything else exists. When one thing disappears, other things disappear. This allows new things to grow. There is no emptiness, only opportunity.

I started school yesterday. It's an online Naturopathy course and I LOVE it. Sandy Hill Institute of Natural Sciences
It's free. And today I learned this -

There is a book that most universities use in their doctor courses, to teach the doctors of our future. This leading medical book is called "Principles of Internal Medicine". This book has 7 authors, 6 of which graduated from Harvard Medical School. One of the primary donors of money to Harvard Medical School is the Rockefeller family. This family also controls the pharmaceutical industry... which sponsors Harvard Medical School. Sounds to me like a monopoly on the health of our country and it's all invested in drugs. Let's leave it at that.

8.31.2012

Whenever I get an order on etsy, I always make sure to include a little thank you note. Until recently, I pretty much just grabbed my memo pad, wrote a little note, and threw it in the box with the order... I decided it would be way nicer to create a nice little handmade card and envelope and have a bunch of them premade so when I get an order all I have to do is grab the card, write a little line with an individual message for that person and it's done. /// So I made a stack of these great little cards yesterday ///

Perhaps one day I will keep a stock of them available in my shop, but until then they are for my special customers only! :)

I used a german song book for the envelopes and the pages turned out to be the perfect size to hold my cards. I have a stack of blank greeting cards that I cut into 4 smaller ones to make these mini notes. Then I just decorated them with markers, some leaf cut outs in each corner, and my signature tree stamp on the back. Lovely! I think I should write my shop name - Re-Grow Roots somewhere on it, probably the back.

Thanks for checking out my thank you notes! I would love it if you left a comment about your own thank you notes or what you think of mine... or just tell me how you're doing today! I love hearing from my readers. :) It's been raining all night and morning, a perfect light drizzle and I love it.

8.21.2012

Last night Carlos went out to a local pub, the Black Horse Pub in Hollister. My dad works at the restaurant owned by the same man, Dr. Mike, and he told us about an open mic night they have every monday at 7. I haven't been into playing music with anyone other than myself and the trees lately. Carlos, however, loves playing as much as ever and rarely has the opportunity to play with other folks.. so we went.

I was already feeling very self conscious before we went because when my dad was telling us about it, he said that Carlos should play there and that it's a place for practiced musicians to play, that I wouldn't be able to just sit around and beat on a drum... So I felt like I wasn't good enough.

In most tasks in my life, I am very self confident. I know that I'm a great gardener, a wonderful artist, an interesting story teller, a good driver, a great cook ... so none of these things make me nervous. As soon as I even think about singing in front of people, I feel like I swallowed a whole melon. My throat swells, my heart races, I get totally anxious and nervous. Needless to say, I did not perform last night. Carlos performed wonderfully with many different musicians and was asked to record music with them and jam with them again. I am very happy for him, but I also felt very distant - especially when he started singing House of the Rising Sun, a song I love to sing but never want to sing in public. My anxiousness made me sad because I want to be free and do whatever I feel like doing every moment of my life. I wanted to sing and share my voice with everyone, but I don't want to for fear of criticism from myself and others.

The people there were so wonderful. We met incredibly kind and warm hearted folks that go there every Monday night. It's like a home for them, it's like family. I told stories and shared my passions, but the most valuable part of the night was near the end.

Teddy is a beautiful lady who played the bass the entire night, with every single musician that went up. She has incredible energy about her. I told her that I loved her music and her energy. She spoke to me saying that she could feel my beautiful energy too. Come to find out, she contacted us 5 months ago when Carlos and I were trying to get a band together. We already had some other guys playing with us, and soon after that I went into my holed up fear of singing again, and this I told her.

She told me the trick to singing is to breathe. That it is all about the breath. She noticed that my breathing is completely wrong for singing and put my hand on her belly to show me how she does it. I have always been breathing into my chest, not into my belly. I don't completely fill up my lungs. Everything makes so much sense to me now! The main thing that bothers me when I listen to my singing recorded is that I sound tense. Carlos doesn't hear, but it's all I hear in my music. An incredible tenseness that makes me feel totally uncomfortable just listening to it. If my breath was deep and easy, my singing would be easy and less tense. I told her I think a lot about the people watching me, the microphones, the amplification... she said not to think about anything - only think about my breath.

Since then I have been practicing my breath pretty constantly! :) I think this will save my life. One day I will be fearless.

8.12.2012

They're funky, kinda retro, comfy as all get out... and super easy to make!

Step one - chain 6 and join together with slip stitch to form circle
Step two - go around and around til it gets long enough
Step three - join both ends together with a tapestry needle by sewing through the loops

Love em? I do! I offer them in my etsy shop for $5 each if you dig em but don't want to make your own... I make them in wool or cotton. :) Check it out - regrowroots.etsy.com

Who am I?

Every day is full of joy and love with new lessons to be learned all the time. When I walk through the woods, my mind is calm and I listen to the wilderness. In a world full of economies, governments, standards, and oppression at every turn - life can be full of distractions. So I keep my life simple and full of wonder.